Systems and methods for a thin film capacitor having a composite high-K thin film stack

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are provided for fabricating a thin film capacitor involving depositing an electrode layer of conductive material on top of a substrate material, depositing a first layer of ferroelectric material on top of the substrate material using a metal organic deposition or chemical solution deposition process, depositing a second layer of ferroelectric material on top of the first layer using a high temperature sputter process and depositing a metal interconnect layer to provide electric connections to layers of the capacitor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/117,099, filed May 8, 2008, which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/917,371, filed on May 11, 2007, the entirety of each of these disclosures is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The technology described in this patent document relates generally to the field of thin film devices and fabrication. More particularly, the patent document describes a composite high-k thin film stack for improving the time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) of a thin film capacitor.

BACKGROUND

Ferroelectric capacitors have potential use as decoupling or voltage-tunable capacitors (varactors) in RF systems. Some benefits of ferroelectric capacitors are small size, integration of different values and functions of capacitance, and low cost. Applications for ferroelectric capacitors may include tunable filters, voltage-controlled oscillators, tunable phase shifters, tunable matching networks, low-impedance power supplies, decoupling high-frequency signals at an IC bonding pad, or others. Integrated circuits including ferroelectric capacitors may, for example, be used in portable electronics for low-power wireless communication (e.g., cellular phones, pagers, PDAs, etc.), directional antenna systems, high clock-rate microphones, miniature DC to DC converters, or other devices.

A ferroelectric capacitor may be fabricated by depositing a ferroelectric film on an electrode layer and then depositing a second electrode layer over the ferroelectric film. The deposition technique can be sputtering, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of any kind (including ALD and CCVD), or pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The ferroelectric film can be Barium Strontium Titanate (BST), Strontium Bismuth Tantalate (SBT), Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT), Lead Lanthanum Zirconate Titanate (PLZT) or any other perovskite or pyrochlore phase ferroelectric film or a combination thereof. The electrode can be made of any metal or conductive oxide or any combination of these materials. Preferred in this embodiment is Platinum, Platinum alloy, Iridium either solely or in combination with Iridium Oxide, Ruthenium Oxide, or Strontium Ruthenium Oxide (SRO). Sputtered ferroelectric films have a columnar morphology with a pronounced preferential orientation that is perpendicular to the electrodes. As a result, sputter deposited perovskite films have a high tuning and capacitance density. However, the TDDB behavior of the ferroelectric capacitor is adversely affected by the crystalline columnarity of the ferroelectric film because grain boundaries are aligned perpendicular to the electrodes. The technology described herein provides a modification to the columnarity of the sputtered ferroelectric film, which breaks up charged carrier migration through the film and thus improves the TDDB of the capacitor.

SUMMARY

A capacitor structure is provided that includes a first electrode layer of conductive material, a dielectric formed from a ferroelectric layer deposited in a manner that forms a columnar grain structure and a ferroelectric layer deposited in a manner that forms a randomly-oriented grain structure, and a second electrode layer of conductive material on top of the dielectric layer.

Additionally, a tunable thin film capacitor structure is provided including a first electrode layer of conductive material, a ferroelectric seed layer having randomly distributed grains deposited on top of the first electrode layer, a high temperature sputter applied dielectric layer deposited on top of the seed layer, and a second electrode layer of conductive material on top of the dielectric layer.

Further, a method for fabricating a thin film capacitor is provided that includes depositing an electrode layer of conductive material on top of a substrate material, depositing a first layer of ferroelectric material on top of the substrate material in a manner that forms a randomly-oriented grain structure, depositing a second layer of ferroelectric material on top of the first layer using a high temperature sputter process in a manner that forms a columnar-oriented grain structure, and depositing a metal interconnect layer to provide electric connections to layers of the capacitor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an example ferroelectric capacitor that includes a thin seed layer between the lower electrode and the dielectric layer.

FIG. 2 depicts another example ferroelectric capacitor that includes a thin seed layer.

FIG. 3 depicts an example process for fabricating a multilayer capacitor structure.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram depicting the process of fabricating a multilayer capacitor structure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The columnarity of a ferroelectric film may be modified by depositing a very thin layer (seed layer) of a ferroelectric material with randomly distributed grains prior to the sputter deposition of the ferroelectric film. The ferroelectric seed layer with randomly distributed grains may be deposited using any kind of Metal Organic Deposition (MOD) or Chemical Solution Deposition (CSD) technology. The deposition method can be either spin-on or misted deposition with subsequent thermal processing. Thermal processing may include hot plate bakes, oven bakes, rapid thermal processing (RTP), vacuum bakes (including in-situ bake while sputtering) or high temperature anneals. The ferroelectric film is then deposited over the thin seed layer using one of the deposition methods mentioned above. In this manner, the randomly distributed grains in the seed layer will distort the preferred orientation of crystalline columnarity in the deposited ferroelectric film and also interrupt the vertically-oriented grain boundaries resulting in an improvement in the TDDB behavior of the capacitor.

FIG. 1 depicts an example ferroelectric capacitor 10 that includes a thin seed layer 12 between the lower electrode 14 and the dielectric layer 16. The capacitor structure 10 includes two conducting electrodes 14, 18 that are separated by the thin seed layer 12 and the dielectric layer 16. The conducting electrodes 14, 18 may, for example, be fabricated using platinum or a platinum alloy. The seed layer 12 is fabricated by depositing a thin layer of ferroelectric material (e.g., BST) on the lower electrode 14, for example using MOD technology (e.g., spin coating). The seed layer 12 should preferably be as thin as possible because a thick seed layer may adversely affect the operation of the capacitor 10. The dielectric layer 16 is fabricated by depositing a ferroelectric material, such as BST, using a high temperature sputter process. The capacitor 10 may, for example, be fabricated on a substrate material coated with one or more insulating layers (not shown).

As described above, the thin seed layer 12 distorts the orientation of crystalline columnarity in the sputtered (CVD or PLD deposited) ferroelectric film 16 resulting in improved TDDB behavior of the capacitor 10. In addition, the thin seed layer 12 may heal and planarize possible defects and roughness in the electrode 14 such that the sputtered (or other columnar) film 16 is deposited onto a very smooth and defect free surface. A low temperature MOD seed layer 12 may protect the electrode 14 during the high temperature sputtering process, preventing possible damage (e.g., increased roughness, etc.) A combination of an undoped BST and a doped BST formulation, or a combination of different ferroelectric materials may also be beneficial in other ways, such as minimizing the space charge, and improving the temperature dependence of dielectric properties.

FIG. 2 depicts another example ferroelectric capacitor 20 that includes a thin seed layer 22. In this example, the thin seed layer 22 is deposited between two columnar dielectric layers 24, 26. A first ferroelectric layer 24 is deposited on a lower electrode 28. The seed layer 12 is then fabricated by depositing a thin layer of the ferroelectric material (e.g., BST or other ferroelectric with randomly distributed grains) on the first columnar-oriented ferroelectric layer 24, for example using MOD technology. A second columnar-oriented ferroelectric layer 26 is fabricated by a deposition technique such as sputtering over the seed layer 22. An upper electrode 30 is then fabricated over the upper dielectric layer 26 to form the capacitor structure 20.

The fabrication processes described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 may be repeated to form multi-layer capacitor structures. An example process for fabricating a multilayer capacitor structure is illustrated in FIG. 3. In step 50 (FIG. 3A), one or more insulating layers 60 are deposited on a substrate material 62. The substrate 62 may, for example, be Silicon, Alumina (including glazed and ZTA), Sapphire, Silicon Carbide, Magnesium Silicate (including Foresterite) or any other type of insulating, semi-insulating or semi-conducting material. The insulating layers 60 may include an insulating layer such as Si02 and a hermetic insulating layer, such as ShN4.

In step 52 (FIG. 3B), multiple capacitor layers 64 are fabricated on top of a deposited electrode layer 66, for example using the process described above with reference to FIG. 1. In this example, two capacitor layers 64 are illustrated, each having a 0.06 urn MOD seed layer of BST 68 and a 0.23 urn layer of sputtered BST 70 deposited over the seed layer 68. In step 54 (FIG. 3C), the capacitor layers 64 are patterned to form a mesa structure, such that each electrode layer 66 is accessible. In step 56 (FIG. 3D), a planarizing and insulating layer 72 (e.g., an ILD glass layer) is deposited, patterned and etched to form vias 74. In step 58 (FIG. 3E), a metal interconnect layer 76 is deposited that provides an electrical connection to the electrodes. A nitride overcoat 78 is deposited to protect the metal interconnect layer 76 and gold bumps 80 are deposited to provide electrical contacts for final packaging. A top view of the capacitor structure depicting the mesa shaped capacitor layers 74, is also illustrated in FIG. 3F.

Tests of the capacitor structure shown in FIGS. 3A-3F demonstrated an increase in the lifetime of the BST capacitors by at least one order of magnitude at accelerated stress conditions of 125-150 C and 83-100 V/um. For instance, under stress conditions of 125 C and 85V/um, wafers fabricated using this process had no TDDB failures over 1500 hours of testing, while a wafer processed using the standard procedure (i.e. a sputtered BST film with no seed layer) had all devices fail, with an average lifetime of 83 hours.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram depicting an example process of fabricating a multilayer capacitor structure. At step 100 where an electrode layer of conductive material is deposited. This electrode layer may be deposited directly onto a substrate or may be deposited onto a substrate that has previously had an insulating layer deposited.

Following deposition of the electrode layer in step 100, a first layer of ferroelectric material is deposited on top of the layer of conductive material in step 110. This layer of ferroelectric material heals and planarizes possible defects and roughness in the electrode layer. The first layer of ferroelectric material may be deposited using any kind of Metal Organic Deposition (MOD) or Chemical Solution Deposition (CSD) technology. Examples of these technologies are spin-on deposition and misted deposition. This first layer of ferroelectric material may have a randomly oriented grain structure that will distort the preferred orientation of the crystalline columnarity in the deposited ferroelectric film and also interrupt the vertically-oriented grain boundaries resulting in an improvement in the TDDB behavior of the capacitor.

The previously referred to second layer of ferroelectric material is deposited on top of the first layer of ferroelectric material in step 120. This second layer of ferroelectric material is deposited using a high temperature sputter process and may have a columnar oriented grain structure as previously described. The steps of depositing the first layer of ferroelectric material 110 and depositing the second layer of ferroelectric material 120 may be repeated as desired to form several capacitor layers as shown in step 125.

Once the desired number of capacitor layers have been deposited, the deposited capacitor layers may be patterned into a mesa structure in step 130. Patterning the capacitor layers into a mesa structure offers access to all electrode layers and capacitor layers for later applied structures.

In step 140, a planarizing and insulating layer is deposited on top of the previously deposited layers. The planarizing and insulating layer is etched to form a set of pathways or vias in the capacitor structure. These etched vias offer conduits for metal interconnection materials to be deposited in step 150.

Following deposition and etching of the planarizing and insulating layer in step 140, one or more metal interconnect layers are deposited in step 150. This metal interconnect layer creates the electrical connections to the previously deposited structures in steps 100-140. Following deposition of the metal interconnect layer, an additional layer of protective material such as a nitride overcoat may be deposited on top of the metal interconnect layer and gold bumps may be attached to the metal connections to help protect the previously deposited structures.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the invention. The patentable scope of the invention may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A thin film capacitor prepared by a process comprising: depositing an electrode layer of conductive material on a substrate material; depositing a seed layer of ferroelectric material on the electrode layer utilizing a deposition process that forms a randomly-oriented grain structure; depositing a second layer of ferroelectric material on the seed layer using a high temperature sputter process in a manner that forms a columnar-oriented grain structure; and depositing a metal interconnect layer to provide electric connections for the capacitor.
 2. The thin film capacitor of claim 1, wherein one of the seed layer of ferroelectric material or the second layer of ferroelectric material is a doped barium strontium titanate material and the other of the seed layer or second layer is an undoped barium strontium titanate material.
 3. The thin film capacitor of claim 1, wherein the second layer is about six times as thick as the seed layer of ferroelectric material.
 4. The thin film capacitor of claim 1, wherein the seed layer of ferroelectric material and the second layer of ferroelectric material are different materials.
 5. The thin film capacitor of claim 1, wherein the seed and second layers are part of a mesa structure.
 6. The thin film capacitor of claim 1, wherein the seed layer of ferroelectric material comprises an undoped Barium Strontium Titanate material.
 7. The thin film capacitor of claim 1, wherein the seed layer of ferroelectric material is about 0.06 μm in thickness.
 8. The thin film capacitor of claim 1, wherein the second layer of ferroelectric material is about 0.23 μm in thickness.
 9. A thin film capacitor comprising: a substrate; an electrode layer on the substrate; a seed layer of ferroelectric material on the electrode layer, wherein the seed layer includes a randomly-oriented grain structure; a second layer of ferroelectric material on the seed layer, wherein the second layer includes a columnar-oriented grain structure; and a metal interconnect layer for providing electric connections for the capacitor, wherein one of the seed or second layers of ferroelectric material is a doped barium strontium titanate material and the other of the seed or second layers is an undoped barium strontium titanate material.
 10. The thin film capacitor of claim 9, wherein the seed and second layers are part of a mesa structure.
 11. The thin film capacitor of claim 9, wherein the seed layer of ferroelectric material is about 0.06 μm in thickness.
 12. The thin film capacitor of claim 9, wherein the second layer of ferroelectric material is about 0.23 μm in thickness.
 13. The thin film capacitor of claim 9, wherein the second layer is about six times as thick as the seed layer of ferroelectric material.
 14. The thin film capacitor of claim 9, comprising: a planarizing and insulating layer on the second layer, wherein vias are formed in the planarizing and insulating layer.
 15. The thin film capacitor of claim 14, wherein the metal interconnect layer is deposited in the vias to provide the electric connections for the capacitor.
 16. A thin film capacitor comprising: a seed layer of ferroelectric material on an electrode layer, wherein the seed layer includes a randomly-oriented grain structure; a second layer of ferroelectric material on the seed layer, wherein the second layer includes a columnar-oriented grain structure; a metal interconnect layer for providing electric connections for the capacitor; and first and second insulating layers, wherein the electrode layer is formed on the first insulating layer, wherein the second insulating layer is formed over the second layer of ferroelectric material, and wherein the metal interconnect layer is formed over the second insulating layer.
 17. The thin film capacitor of claim 16, wherein the seed layer of ferroelectric material is about 0.06 μm in thickness, and wherein one of the seed or second layers of ferroelectric material is a doped barium strontium titanate material and the other of the seed or second layers is an undoped barium strontium titanate material.
 18. The thin film capacitor of claim 16, comprising a nitride layer formed over the metal interconnect layer, wherein electrical contacts are formed through the nitride layer in contact with the metal interconnect layer.
 19. The thin film capacitor of claim 16, wherein one of the seed or second layers of ferroelectric material is a doped barium strontium titanate material and the other of the seed or second layers is an undoped barium strontium titanate material.
 20. The thin film capacitor of claim 16, wherein the seed layer of ferroelectric material and the second layer of ferroelectric material are different materials. 